|
|
 |
Mention
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Orange County Register , Mention >>
Island diva Cesaria Evora
She brings the music of her islands located more than 350 miles off the west coast of Africa to the world.
By RICHARD CHANG
The Orange County Register
Before Cesaria Evora, many people in Europe and the U.S. didn't know where Cape Verde was.
But the Grammy-winning "barefoot diva" of Cape Verde has helped put her archipelago nation - located more than 350 miles off the west coast of Africa - on the map.
Evora, 64, has become one of world music's best-known singers, sharing her nostalgic cigarette-and-whiskey-tinged voice with millions through concerts and recordings.
She will make her Orange County debut at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. She's called the "barefoot diva" because she always performs barefoot - a sign of solidarity with those who are less fortunate.
Evora has just released a new album, "Rogamar," which means "praise the sea" or "pray to the sea." It's her 10th studio production, filled with melancholic mornas - the national folk-blues of Cape Verde - and faster-tempo coladeiras.
"There are many songs in this record which speak about the sea," Evora said recently from Paris through an interpreter. "The sea is very important for us, for Cape Verdean people."
Evora speaks and sings in Crioulo, a creole language that mixes Portuguese with West African tongues. Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony for hundreds of years, until the chain of islands won its independence in 1975.
"Fifty percent of Cape Verdeans live in Cape Verde, and 50 percent live outside," she said. "When I meet Cape Verdean people, I'm very glad, because it is very important when you meet somebody from your home country. I know they live all around the world, because I meet people from my country wherever I go."
Evora was born Aug. 27, 1941, in Mindelo, the main city on the island of São Vicente. Growing up, she was exposed to the music of Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Portuguese fado star Amália Rodrigues and Brazil's Caetano Veloso.
Through her teens and 20s, she sang in bars and clubs and appeared on several local radio shows. But she took time off in the 1970s to raise a family. She didn't return to the stage until 1985.
She made her first trip away from the islands when she was in her 40s, recording her debut album, "Tchintchi Roti," in Lisbon, Portugal.
Evora, whose nickname is Cize, recorded many albums afterward, including the critically lauded "Mar Azul," "Miss Perfumado" and "Café Atlantico" - a collaboration with musicians from Cuba. She has incorporated jazzy touches and African percussion in her work, yet the minor-keyed mornashave always been her bread and butter.
While she still lives in Mindelo, she often sings about the longing Cape Verdeans abroad have for their homeland. Many have been forced to leave the islands because of drought, poverty and geographic isolation. (New England has one of the world's largest diasporic communities of Cape Verdeans.)
"They have such special feelings for the mother country. It's called sodade. That's a very special word for Cape Verdean people, because migration is very common from our country. All the Cape Verdean people feel sodade."
Though nominated for a Grammy several times, she didn't win until 2003, for the dynamic, enchanting "Voz D'Amor."
"You know they gave it to my name on the sixth time," she said. "And five times I didn't get anything. On the sixth time I got it. It was a great day. If the Grammy goes to the name of an artist, that is very important. I was singing, and people around the table were saying 'hallelujah.'"
Evora has kept a busy schedule in recent years, crisscrossing the globe and returning to the studio every couple of years.
"I am a little bit tired," said the thrice-married grandmother of two. "A tour is very hard. You know what is so hard, is traveling. To sing is not very hard.
"But I haven't decided to stop. If I decide to stop, it's going to be forever."
Evora has performed in Los Angeles and San Diego before, including memorable concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001 and at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. But she hasn't performed in Orange County until this weekend's show. She'll have a backup band of eight or nine musicians, including two from Cuba.
"When I go to a city or country for the first time, I am very glad, because what I want is to have a great public who likes my music, and if I think they like it, of course, I am glad. But when I go to a country for the first time, the emotion is great, too."
As for the next generation of Cape Verdean singers, Evora recommends that they maintain faith in traditional styles. She likes rising stars Lura and Maria de Barros.
"If they go outside our music, if they go to sing other styles of music, I don't think they can go very far. If they sing that, that's OK, but it's international music, not Cape Verdean music. If they want to stay in our music, Cape Verdean like we are, they can go very far." Uncompromising words of wisdom from the musical ambassador of Cape Verde. 03/15/06 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
